The present invention relates to a mechanical lock having a key provided with variable key information elements which are adapted to be scanned during rotation of the key around an axis of the lock.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,325 discloses an adaptive lock which may be programmed by certain manipulations for any key of a given plurality of keys. The advantages of such an adaptive lock are more pronounced if the corresponding keys are themselves variable or adjustable. While the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,325 describes such a variable key, that key is complex in its design, expensive to produce, and relatively cumbersome to adjust. Furthermore, it is relatively difficult to remember the various key information for the key combination with this type of key.
An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical lock having a variable key which overcomes the difficulties of the prior art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mechanical lock having a variable key that is relatively simple in its design.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical lock having a variable key which may be easily adjusted.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a mechanical lock having a variable key in which the key or the lock combination may be easily remembered.
These objects and others are achieved by the present invention with a mechanical lock having a key equipped with variable key information elements which are each in the form of a cam plate. The cam plates are coaxially located relative to the axis of the lock and are discretely adjustable with respect to a reference plane to individual angular positions. The cam plates have a plurality of different radii which determine multiple variations of key information per information element in the individual angular positions.